1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot system including a robot arm on which a camera is mounted, and a robot control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a robot system is used to grip a work piece, assemble a work piece, or the like, a camera mounted on the tip of a robot arm may be put into use to measure the position and posture of the work piece so that the work piece is gripped, assembled, or the like based on the measured information (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-288974).
A problem with a camera that is mounted on the distal end of a robot arm is that an image of a part or the like that is taken with the camera while the robot arm is moving is blurred, which hinders the obtainment of accurate positional information and the like of the part. The robot arm therefore needs to be halted while a part or the like is photographed in order to obtain accurate positional information and the like. However, robot arms in general have a large inertia, and halting a robot arm to photograph a part or the like means that considerable time is spent on the work cycle of slowing down the robot arm, bringing the robot arm to a halt, photographing, and reaccelerating the robot arm. The resultant problem is a decrease in operating speed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a robot system that can execute various works with the use of an image taken by a camera without impairing the operating speed.